Trump’s co-defendants in classified documents case are asking judge to dismiss charges against them

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — Lawyers for two co-defendants of former President Donald Trump in the classified documents case are asking a judge on Friday to dismiss charges against them.

Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira are charged with conspiring with Trump to obstruct an FBI investigation into the hoarding of classified documents at the former president’s Palm Beach estate. All three have pleaded not guilty.

Lawyers for Nauta and De Oliveira are set to ask U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon during a Friday afternoon hearing to throw out the charges they face, a request opposed by special counsel Jack Smith’s team, which brought charges against them and Trump. It’s unclear when the judge might rule.

The two Trump aides are not charged with illegally storing the documents but rather with helping Trump obstruct government efforts to get them back.

Prosecutors say that Nauta in 2022 moved dozens of boxes from a storage room at Mar-a-Lago to Trump’s residence in an apparent effort to prevent their return to the government and that he and De Oliveira conspired with Trump to try to delete surveillance video that showed the movement of the boxes and that was being sought by the FBI.

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